Revival
by Flicker the light
Summary: Five years after the destruction of the Shinganshina District, Zarola Rivera has nothing left. Her friends and family were slaughtered during the Titan invasion of Wall Maria, sending Zarola into deep depression. In the year 850, she is recruited along with several others to be in the 104th Trainees Squad. Nothing will ever be the same.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Attack on Titan series. _

* * *

It felt like an earthquake, as the ground rumbled and the city folk gasped and panicked. I had no idea what they were screaming about; until I glanced up too see large red fingers latching onto the walls. Steam came out of the Titan, as it was taller than the whole wall. It had no skin, but just muscles appeared. It's fingers made the wall crack.

I saw people running toward the back entrance of the wall, where the boats were located. I darted toward that direction, without even running to check on my parents first. I didn't know where any of my friends were, or any of my family members. The only person I focused on was myself.

Selfish. There was nothing worse than selfish cowards, and I was one of them. That's where my sadness would start, right when I decided to run to the boats and not check on my parents.

I came to the entrance of the walls, where crowds were convened together. I squirmed through the crowd, because I was tiny. I made some progress, as I saw people struggling to get through and fights were breaking out. There were items thrown all over the ground, because people must have been dropping stuff as they were trying to get through.

There were two enormous boats, and they were not going to fit all of these people into it. I stared at the first boat, watching it leave. My eyes were wide open, full of fear. I had to get on one of those boats.

I forced myself to move, as I zigzagged through the crowd. It was hot, as the sweaty bodies were slamming against each other. I was sweating a good amount when I reached the boat, and ran onto it. Nobody noticed me because I was so small.

A small ten year old that was selfish enough to abandon her parents and friends in order to reach the boats.

* * *

It was that month, of where people would try to be recruiting for the Scouts. It was August and I personally didn't have enough of energy right now to try out, as I sat near the lake throwing knives at a tree. I would always aim for the middle of it. I haven't thrown a knife in a while.

It's been three years since the invasion of Wall Maria, where the colossal Titan took over and the armored one made a hole in the wall. I've been here all by myself. I haven't accomplished much. I haven't made any new friends, as I suspected that my other ones were dead. I searched for them and my parents when I arrived, but they were nowhere to be found.

I was currently lying in the grass, in the Trost District. It was a town located on the south edge of Wall Rose. It was the town closest to the breach of Wall Maria, so it was the most frequently attacked by those stupid Titans. I hated them.

I glanced down at the blade I was holding, and stared at the rose engraved in the silver handle. I sighed, as I looked back up and threw it violently at the tree. I hit it right in the center of the trunk. I grunted and played with the thin grass. My dad had given me that knife when I was little. I had no idea why he would give a little girl a knife, but he told me the reason he gave it to me was because so I wouldn't get bored. They were always gone working. My dad and mom had both worked in the military, but not anymore.

I pushed myself off the ground, and trudged over to the tree. I lazily grabbed onto my knife and jerked it out. I backed up a couple of steps and took a deep breath. I threw it again, and did not miss. Again.

"That's pretty impressive," I heard someone say. I glanced over to my right to see a young man with light brown hair watching me. He had small brown eyes and was a couple inches taller than me. He had a long face. "Where did you learn to do that?"

I groaned and jerked the knife out of the trunk. I wasn't in the mood to make friends right now or talk to people, as I reflected on my sad past life. I shoved the knife into my light green sweatshirt, and began walking away from the boy. He seemed about the same age as me.

"Hey, don't be so—"

"Fuck off," I muttered under my breath and slumped away.

I'm pretty sure he cursed back at me, but I blocked out him talking. I just wanted to join the Scouts so I could kill some Titans. It was the only thing I really wanted to do. I didn't want to work at a market or gather food. I didn't have anyone to love right now or any friends, so it wouldn't matter if I would die fighting Titans. I could just be with the rest of my family then.

I had some qualities for joining the Scouts. I knew I was fast, and I could throw a knife. I guess that was about it. I had to admit, even though I was fast, I would trip quite often.

Tryouts were today, in a field for the military training. This was to tryout for the 104th trainee squad. I could make it, but I would have to be more focused and less gloomy. I should have a better attitude towards everything, but after scavenging for food out of the streets for years puts you in a bad mood.

The camp was surrounded by large boulders and rocks, with a few cabins adjacent to the rock walls. There was a wide-open area, where all the soldiers were lined up. There were a lot of people my age talking to each other, except for some I noticed. They must have been the shy ones of the group. The one that I noticed first was a girl who had blonde air, and radiant blue eyes. I glanced over to her and we made awkward eye contact.

We were given uniforms at the entrance. We had put them on over our clothes. I put the short, brown jacket over my green sweatshirt. I had taken the black gloves out of my pockets, and slipped them off. The gloves covered everything except for the fingers. I liked them because I felt secure with them on.

I dawdled over to where the people were lined up in rows, as a bald man began yelling at everyone. I sighed and finally got to an open space in one of the middle rows.

"Try not to be late next time slow-ass!" the bald man yelled. I didn't say anything and intertwined my fingers into my amber hair. It was always shoulder-length, because I never wanted it in the way.

He marched over to a short boy, about two inches taller than me, so 5'4, and stood in front of him. He glared at the boy with blonde hair and round blue eyes. He wore a white collared, button up shirt under his brown uniform jacket.

"What do they call you maggot?" the bald man yelled.

"Armin Arlert from Shinganshina sir!" he replied back with the most respecting manner. He appeared to be from the same district I was from, but I've never seen him around. He didn't even look familiar.

"Really? Why would your parents give you such a dumb name?" he sassed.

First impression right there. Asshole.

"It was my grandfathers sir," he responded.

"And why the hell is a runt like you here?" he bent down, and was right in front of his face. He better not invade my personal space.

"To help humanity from the Titans sir!"

I stopped listening to his stupid yelling to try to intimidate all of us, because it wasn't going to work on me. I knew he actually wasn't going to do anything that bad, because he was probably a coward like the rest of humanity. He was teaching trainees because he didn't want to fight the actual Titans.

After yelling to a bunch of other people, he finally arrived at my row.

"Row four about face!" he shouted and I turned.

There was a blonde man standing in front of me, as the other row across from us was facing us. I was next to a boy with brown hair, and teal-green eyes. He stood there, motionless. It kind of seemed like he was pondering in his own world. The blonde man in front of me had very arched eyebrows and golden eyes. He was taller than most and his broadness was somewhat intimidating.

I peeked over to where the bald guy was now, and in front of him was a very short guy. He just looked like he reached five foot and he was slim built. He had bright hazel eyes and had a buzz cut. He was also wearing a white shirt under his jacket.

He introduced himself as Connie Springer from the rural Ragako village. He said he wanted to bring honor to his village, or some crap like that. The bald man had picked him up from his head and began yelling at him some more. I chuckled once he dropped him to the ground, but his attention seemed to be on someone else.

There was this idiot girl eating a potato. She had her dark red hair tied up into a ponytail, and brown eyes. She stated that she was from Dauper Village in the mountain, which was located on the southern district of Wall Rose.

He kept asking her why she would eat the potato. The girl looked like she could put on a few pounds. Actually all of us needed to put on a few pounds, as most of us were skinny. I was one of those people. It may have appeared that my thighs were bigger but it was only because my bone structure was built wide. Hopefully, I would gain some muscle and fat while at this camp. I would be eating more than I usually would on the streets.

Then I heard her say something, which almost made me burst out into laughter. "Are you asking me why people eat potatoes? I'm surprised you don't know sir."

I slapped my hand in front of my lips, to restrain myself from laughing. This girl was asking for a punishment. Everybody else was in shock. Was I the only one to find this humorous?

* * *

In the cabin, everybody was eating his or her grey colored soups and bread. I munched slowly on the piece of bread and leaned my head against the table. I was basically tired from nothing, as I didn't do much everyday. This food was going to give me strength.

I heard the table move slightly and I glanced up. It was that Connie fellow. Oh great, now I have to pretend to be friendly. I put on a small smile, but it was obviously fake.

"So where are you from?" he asked with a large smile. He had such pretty teeth. "What's your name?"

I took a sip of my water, wiped my mouth and then replied, "Zarola Rivera from Shinganshina District."

"Oh… there's more people from there, here!" he exclaimed. "You must have been there when the colossal Titan attacked!"

As he said those words, a bunch of people gathered around my table. Great, now I have to entertain all of these people. I nodded and put my cup down. The boy with teal-green eyes pushed aside one of the trainees.

"You are also where Armin and I are from," he said. "My name's Eren."

Eren? Why did that name ring a bell?

"Zarola. Last name?" I asked quickly.

"Yeager."

My eyes widened, as I dropped my cup onto the ground. Eren Yeager was one of my friend's crushes. My best friend, Natalia, had told me about him one day. She said he was super cute and that she wanted to smother him with hugs.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, pushing Connie aside and sitting down at the table.

"Yeah, sorry," I apologized, and wiped the water off of the table. "It's just that I was remembering everything that happened."

"Tell us about the Titans!" Connie shouted enthusiastically. He began asking me various questions about them and what happened them that day. I'll I could do was remember how much of a coward I was, and the fear of the people. The people getting chewed on by Titans and the families dying.

"Back off Connie," one of the guys said. "She's obviously been through a lot."

I stood up from the table and left the cabin. I didn't want to be reminded of my past life. I was sad enough as it is. I didn't need them reminding me of my dead friends and family.

I jogged down the steps, as I felt something brush against my shoulder. My immediate reaction was to jump down the stairs and pull out my knife, but I just jerked to the side. I spun around to see the man from this morning.

"Wow, you are fast. Wait… wait a minute. You are the—"

"Fuck off!" I shouted.

"Seriously!"

I grunted and then hopped down the stairs. I jogged away, so there would be no more interruptions.

"Hey! Hey wait!" I heard the Eren boy from before shout.

But of course there would be interruptions.

I stopped jogging, and politely turned around. My expression didn't change, but my face didn't look scary when it was expressionless. I waited for him to catch up, as he was with some other girl. I haven't seen a girl like her before. She looked foreign.

"Such pretty hair," I said and Eren rubbed his head.

"Thanks," she slightly smiled. It was a good try. "My name's Mikasa."

"I came over to apologize from before," Eren said. "I must have triggered something for you to run off like that."

"It's just your name," I said.

"My name?" he asked.

"Yeah. My friend Natalia Perez knew you."

"I remember her! It was a really long time ago. She used to visit me a lot and try to give me hugs."

"Yeah… that was her…"

"How is she?" he was very hesitant to ask, assuming the worst.

"Dead. I don't know," I got annoyed.

"Sorry. I've lost a lot of people too."

"Happens to everyone."

There was a slight pause. That Mikasa girl seemed to not want to talk. She was quiet, but I didn't mind. She wasn't completely muted.

"I'm going to go to my cabin," I told them.

"I believe we are in the same one," Mikasa said.

"Uh…"

"There's a list," she said. "Bye Eren. Stay safe."

Eren smiled and nodded. He raced off into a different direction, with a bunch of different guys. She continued to walk on and I followed right next to her. She really needed to cut that hair of hers. She wouldn't want it getting in the way. I couldn't tell if she was extremely stupid or extremely intelligent. I felt like she would be either one of those two. I was putting my cards on the intelligence.

"We are going to train on ODM tomorrow," she brought up randomly. "I hope you have good balance." I laughed nervously at what she said, knowing I was a spaz. "Hmm… you'll have fun with that."

"My name's Zarola Rivera by the way."

"Nice to meet you." I glanced over and noticed she had a very firm facial expression. "Looks like this is our cabin."

"Yeah."

* * *

**Hey guys! So, I made an Attack on Titan Fanfiction! Yay x) I decided to make one, because I had just finished the series and was of course inspired. I apologize to some people who are reading my other fan fictions, but they weren't updated because I'm on hiatus. Sorry guys, I was taking a break. I don't know how long it will be until I update them. I feel bad leaving some of you hanging. **

**Anyway! I hope that you guys enjoyed this story! Please review, follow and favorite it if you like it. I appreciate all of you guys! x) Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Most people would have had a rough sleep, but considering I sleep on the streets, I had a good sleep last night. Even though, the mattress was stiff and the sheets were itchy, it was better than nothing. Sasha kept on complaining to me about how she didn't get enough hours and that she was hungry.

I felt bad for Sasha. She had eaten a potato the previous day, which led to a punishment of "running until you drop", but it didn't seem to stop her craving for food.

We were training today. I had enough a lot of energy, but I wasn't as experienced as some of these people. That girl I talked to last night, Mikasa, has some serious skills. Her balance was perfect on the on the Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear. I was impressed, and almost wanted to ask help from her, but I didn't. I tried balancing on it myself, but had troubles. I wasn't the steadiest person, clumsy in fact.

I hadn't actually gotten to ask Mikasa about it, but honestly, I didn't want to bother her. I noticed that Annie was quite skilled herself. I didn't ask her, because she intimidated me. Not many people intimidated me. I found it strange.

The gears looked a lot easier than they actually were. It was a demanding art that required strength, skill, and much more practice to use it well. The bald man, Keith Shadis, explained to us that it took a great amount of physical strength and it was particularly in the legs.

Unfortunately, those whom were unable to remain upright were dismissed. I had to ace this, or I would be out.

I strapped myself into the device, made sure my belt was secure. I placed my hands to the side, moving them in small movements to find my balance. For a few moments I had the right balance, but before I knew it, I was being tossed upside down.

"Damn," I rubbed my head, from the impact. I sighed and pushed myself up from the dirty ground. I unbuckled the belt and kicked the metal bars next to me. "I can't get it." This was about my third try on that thing, but I couldn't get the proper balance.

I was lying down on the top bunk, staring up at the blank ceiling. I sighed and placed my hands behind my head. Some of the other girls were talking to each other, except Annie who isolated herself.

"You're tense," Mikasa said.

"Hmm?" I responded.

"I felt like you were on edge."  
"You're saying I should loosen up? Kind of… go with the flow?"

"Yes."

I paused. Mikasa always had such small responses, as she didn't seem to like to talk much.

"Thanks," I said.

* * *

"Finally," I said, relieved. I had gotten the right position, and the proper balance.

Instructor Keith had nodded, and a small smirk crawled upon my face. I was happy to move on, and not be kicked out. I wasn't the only one who had struggled, but also Eren. He had actually more troubles than me. I thought he was going to be gone after today, but it just happened to be a malfunction in his belt.

Of course.

* * *

It was two years later. It was mid-afternoon, but it was already dark outside because of the stormy clouds. All of the cadets were outside, walking through the loud rain. The rain splattered onto the leaves, and slowly dripped down them. I could hear the murmuring of the rain and the wailing of Instructor Keith.

He kept on roaring at Armin about dragging the pack behind. We were all carrying heavy bags on our back, running through the forest. I was in the front of the group, just realizing how fast I actually was. Connie was near me, Mikasa following behind him and then some others I wasn't paying attention too.

I peeked back to see Reiner helping out Armin. He had taken his bag for him and I noticed that the commander was defiantly analyzing all of us. He kept the thoughts to himself, keeping his face stern. Armin pulled his bag of Reiner's shoulder and sped up. A small, weak kid, but he wouldn't give up. I gave him that.

The rain was lightening up, and turned into mist. The commander had told us to halt and put the equipment on, which we were carrying in our bags. I unzipped it and strapped the belt around me. I check out if the hooks were secure, and that the blades weren't broken. The handgrips were sturdy and the wires weren't ruined.

Everything was good, as I expected.

I put everything on, and it was lighter than I expected. I must have grown a lot stronger, since the beginning. There were two gas cans on the side and one in the back.

"Halt trainees!" the instructor barked.

We all came to a complete stop, some more tired than others. I tried to pretend that I wasn't tired, but I was. My days lurking around people's houses looking for food and finding tiny scraps lowered my agility. We had been training for two years and I did improve, but not enough for me.

The commander continued to tell us our assignment. "You must be able to cut the back of the neck of a Titan! Of course, we are using dummies, which don't move. There is a lump sticking out on the back of it, so you will know what to hit! Cadets… make me proud! I will be watching you closely and studying your every move!" He bent down to Connie's level. "You got that squirt?"

"Yes sir!" he shouted back and the commander backed away.

"Off you go! Split up!"

The moment he said those first words, I sprinted away from everyone else. I simply clicked and the grapple hooks flung toward trees. I hit the middle of both the trees and swung forward. I activated my gas, and darted through the sky. It felt great, soaring through the air.

The first dummy came into view. I aimed for the tree on my left, and swung right. I curved around behind the dummy and clasped onto the handles of the sword, and drew them out. I didn't do anything fancy, like some of the others were doing, spinning around in circles.

My feet had lightly tapped the tree, where I had removed the hooks from the other trees. I didn't use the hooks this time, but just the gas. I bounced off the tree, and activated the gas. I bolted at the target and slashed my sword against the back of it.

I sliced the middle of the neck. Perfect.

I glanced back to see the others hit the ends of the neck, and I smirked. I looked to see what was ahead of me and it was a tree. I dodged it by shooting my hooks into a different direction. Unfortunately, the hook grasped onto the ground. I was practically thrown onto the ground, and luckily didn't activate my gas.

I tried to quickly shoot the hooks again, but it was too late. I shielded myself with my arms and crashed into the ground. I rolled a couple of times, and felt a sharp pain in my hands. I must have scratched them against something sharp. My palms got scraped, and were burning.

"Ow…" I whined in a low voice.

I remained still, as I heard footsteps come toward me. I stood up to only be kicked on the ground again.

"Hey! What the hell is your—"

"Shut it cadet," he rammed his foot into my stomach. "Still haven't improved? Clumsy as ever and getting yourself during training!" He left out all my good qualities like my speed and accuracy. He just had to pick on me.

"You can't just ram your foot into people asshole," I said sternly. That was probably a stupid idea to back talk. I always had to get the last word in, but this wasn't the right situation for that.

"I'm going to break a limb next time back talk me!" he shouted and kicked me once again in the stomach.

I rolled over and winced in pain. I felt like I wanted to throw up from just two kicks, but he sure didn't hold back any of his strength. I kept my mouth shut, as I didn't want to be in any more agony. That stupid bastard really messed up my gut.

"Move on everyone! We are going back to camp!" he ordered the rest of us.

He marched passed me, while others followed behind him. I kept quiet and motionless on the ground. That really hurt, but it was wrong to speak out of term. My chances were probably slim now for making the top ten.

I stiffened when I heard more footsteps. Who could that be? I assumed that everyone had left. I was a little nervous and wanted to leave, but my body wouldn't move.

"Are you alright?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

I rolled over to see a pair of bright hazel eyes, gleaming and looking at me. His hand was held out and he had a small smile on his face. Connie stared at me, waiting for me to take his hand.

He glanced down at his hand than back at me. Than down again. Than back up at me.

I finally took it, so his eyes would stop dancing around. He pulled me up, and I held onto my stomach. I looked down at him, as he was shorter than me. It was strange, because not that many people were shorter than me. It wasn't that noticeable, only a bit over an inch.

"Can you stop looking at me like that?" he asked and I glanced away. He chuckled and lightly punched me on the shoulder. "I'm just kidding!" I couldn't help but notice that he had such pretty eyes. "My name is Connie. It's Zarola, right?"

"Yeah."

"You know, you're really fast."

"You think so?" I blushed. I was a little surprised that I was already red from barely a compliment.

"I know so! You were leading all of us."

"I guess I didn't really notice."

"And man! I saw the way that you hit the back of the neck. Right on point."

Connie was a very outgoing guy, and it was charming. His attitude was so happy. I felt better when he was around, like he lifted up my spirit. His big smile on his face made me want to smile, but I didn't. I hadn't smiled in a while from being happy.

I wasn't happy. Many people weren't.

Those thoughts made me sad. I kept on holding my stomach and trudged through the forest. I was behind the rest of the trainees, whom were probably already at the camp.

"Hey, wait!" I was startled at the sound of Connie's voice. He quietly laughed. "Sorry." I stared down at the grassy floor and continued to slowly walk. "Why are you so down?"

"Isn't everyone?" I glanced over to him.

"Yeah… I guess, but you were showing it more than most."  
"I didn't realize my emotions were so loud."

"What can I do to cheer you up?" he patted my shoulder.

"Not touch me…"

He removed his hand and smiled at me. It was weird to see that much smiling in one day.

"Sorry. I don't mean to come off creepy for anything," he said.

"Yeah, it's fine. It's not a bad thing to have good energy once in a while, compared to all of this yelling and sobbing."

"I know a way I can cheer you up!"

"Oh yeah?" I was interested in what he had to say. I would be impressed if he could cheer me up now.

"Lets pull a prank."

"A prank?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I could get in trouble."

"Do you really care?" he sounded surprised.

"No…" I lied.

I didn't realize I came off as a person who didn't care about much, but I guess that was true. I had already lost all of my family and friends, so there wasn't much to care about. That statement could also be invalid too. I had made new friends with people and formed bonds with some. I just didn't know yet. I was confused.

"Great! Any id—"

"We are at camp," I interrupted him. "Talk to me about it tomorrow or something when you have ideas."

"Wait," he moved himself in front of me. "We only have a couple of days left until we get to decide where to get recruited. We have to do it by then."

"There a reason for that?" I asked.

"Well, we could be going into different categories. You'll probably get into the top ten too."

"I don't know about that, but thanks. It wouldn't matter if I did or not, because I am not going into the Military Police. I want to be in the Scouts."  
"I'm unsure of what I want to do."

"That's great. Look, we have to go to more training now. I don't want to be in any more trouble than I already am. If you want to do the prank than we can, but tell me about it later and I need to go."  
"Okay," he sounded disappointed.

I jogged over to the training grounds, where everyone was in pairs of two. It must have been one on one training. Everyone had his or her distinct defensive and offensive positions.

I saw Commander Keith march over to me. He was annoyed and angry with me. I wasn't the only one coming late. Connie had also arrived later.

"Cadet Rivera!" he shouted in my face.

"Yes sir?" I asked calmly.

"Late! And Connie!"

"Yes sir!" he ran up to him.

Great… now we were both in big trouble. It was my entire fault, but honestly I didn't want to be the only one in trouble right now. It seemed like the commander already didn't like me at all, and I kept getting in trouble. This was a bad impression.

"It was nice going back to check on your comrades, but you could get killed if you did that in a real situation!" Connie simply nodded. "Get your ass over there."

"Yes sir!" Connie shouted and ran over to the groups of people.

"Do you think you will graduate if you keep getting trouble?"

"I don't know sir."

But I did know.

"Your comrade how to come back on you. He had to check up on you."

"I didn't ask him—"

"Bullshit, I don't care! He still came back. If this were a real situation he could have been dead along with you! Do you want to put their lives in danger?"

"No…" I murmured.

"Speak up!"

"No!" I shouted.

"Good. How do you expect to make it into the top ten if you keep goofing off?"

"I don't know sir…"

"The Military Police don't need clumsy cowards."

"I'm not a coward!" I yelled.

"Get your ass over to those training grounds!"

I said nothing, as I didn't want to aggravate the man anymore. I jogged over to the training grounds, but had no partner. Connie was over with Jean, throwing punches but Jean blocked all of them.

I glanced over at the instructor. He glared at me for a moment.

"Leonhardt! Go with Rivera! Show her how a real cadet fights!"  
"A real cadet, huh?" I mumbled.

I sauntered over to Annie; acting like it was no big deal. I was mad. I did want to fight someone. I felt like the commander was trying to test me. He kept on pushing my buttons. It was time to prove to him that I wasn't a coward.

Annie had a deadpan expression. Her blues eyes stared at me. She knew that I couldn't tell what she was thinking. It was annoying.

She raised her two fists in front of her, closer to her face. I did the same, but farther away from mine. She was still, as my feet kept moving back and forth. I wanted her to strike first so I could block it, but no movement from her side.

Fine. If that's how she wanted to play.

My hand-to-hand combat skills weren't the best. In fact, I didn't really know how good they were. I held the wooden dagger in front of me, as it wasn't over until one of us dropped it.

I sprinted toward her, and punched at her. She dodged and quickly flipped me around, and kicked me in the back. I dropped my dagger onto the ground and she sighed.

That went different than I expected.

* * *

**I hope that you guys liked the chapter! Shoutout to Miss E TG. Shire for helping me out and she also a great story of her own. Tell me what you guys think, and I should be updating it soon but I also have other stories of course. Anyway, thanks for reading guys x) **


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